


Tree

by LiraelClayr007



Series: 31 Days of Ficmas - 2019!! [4]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alien Planet, F/M, Fluff, The Lord of the Rings References, Trees
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2021-02-18 02:40:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21670486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiraelClayr007/pseuds/LiraelClayr007
Summary: “They call it the Mother Tree,” the Doctor says softly, interrupting her thoughts. “Every tree on the planet is descended from it. They can actually prove it, they’ve tested the genetic materials. No one knows exactly how it came to be, but it’s sacred to the entire planet. They don’t worship the tree, exactly, but they care for her--everyone refers to the tree as “her” or “mother”--and a great effort is made for at least one visit to the Mother Tree in one’s lifetime.“She’s beautiful,” Rose says, awe clear in her voice. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Relationships: Twelfth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: 31 Days of Ficmas - 2019!! [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559875
Comments: 6
Kudos: 45
Collections: 31 Days of Ficmas 2019





	Tree

“You’re not going to tell me _anything_ , Doctor?” Rose pretends to pout.

“I’m telling you we’re going on an adventure, and that you’ll love it,” the Doctor teases, taking her hand. She smiles up at him, letting herself be led.

The TARDIS had landed deep in a forest of very tall trees. “Look closer,” the Doctor tells her as they follow the wide path.

Rose looks and nearly squeals in delight. “Oh, Doctor! Can we stay here? Is one of them an inn or something?”

He squeezes her hand. “I think we can find accomodations,” he says with a smile.

For the trees aren’t just trees. They are tree _houses_. The planet’s inhabitants walk on both the path below and bridges made of wood and vine and rope in the canopy above. They blend so beautifully with the trees, it’s no wonder they decided to live in the treetops--skin in every shade of green, hair long and flowing, black and brown as bark. Even their clothing is made to blend with nature--greens and browns and tans, with only faint burst of color in the form of flowers.

“What a beautiful place.” Rose breathes. “Reminds me--”

“Of Lothlórien?” The Doctor grins, and Rose blushes.

“Am I that easy to figure out?”

The Doctor waves this away. “We’ve been together for centuries now, my Rose. I’m going to know what you’re thinking from time to time.” He stops, bending slightly to kiss her nose. “And you do the same to me.”

She giggles.

“Come on,” he says, taking her hand again. “What we’re here to see is actually outside the forest. Or in the center of it, depending on your point of view.”

She sighs dramatically, letting him pull her along. “Always with the mystery, Doctor. Can’t just say a thing straight out, can you.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“Next time I’ll plan a trip and tell you nothing, see how you like it.”

“As if you could surprise me.”

“That sounds like a challenge.”

They walk as they talk--and tease--and soon the trees are beginning to thin. The Doctor slips his arm around Rose’s waist, pulling her close, and presses his lips to her ear. “You’re going to love this,” he says, and her heart leaps at his low, rumbling voice. All these years, and he still has the power to make her melt.

And then they are at the edge of the forest, in a wide, grassy clearing, and Rose’s heart nearly stops. What she’d taken for a grey wall in the distance is actually the trunk of the largest tree she’s ever seen. The trunk itself has the footprint of a skyscraper, and the tree touches the sky and spreads out to shade what seems like miles. The leaves must each be six or seven feet long, and even from this distance she can make out several different shapes among them.

“They call it the Mother Tree,” the Doctor says softly, interrupting her thoughts. “Every tree on the planet is descended from it. They can actually prove it, they’ve tested the genetic materials. No one knows exactly how it came to be, but it’s sacred to the entire planet. They don’t worship the tree, exactly, but they care for her--everyone refers to the tree as “her” or “mother”--and a great effort is made for at least one visit to the Mother Tree in one’s lifetime.

“She’s beautiful,” Rose says, awe clear in her voice. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“Nor I,” says the Doctor. “This place is quite unique. The Mother Tree is ancient, thousands of years old, yet still she grows bigger and stronger every year. She shows no signs of decay or sickness, just strong, sturdy growth. No sentient beings live among her branches--they all live in the great forests--but there are many creatures that call the Mother Tree home. Entire species are born, live, and die among her branches or roots without ever setting foot on anything else. She could accurately be called an ecosystem unto herself.”

“Incredible.”

“It is. The universe is full of amazing things.”

“Thank you for sharin’ it with me, Doctor.” She smiles up at him.

“Thank you for trusting me enough to come with me.” When he kisses her, neither of them are thinking about trees anymore.

“Doctor, why you wakin’ me up in the middle of the night?” Rose half mumbles, half whines her annoyance at the Doctor, who only laughs.

“Come on, you don’t want to miss this. Trust me, we won’t be the only ones taking a late night stroll.”

She drags herself out of bed and pulls on some clothes, then stumbles through the door of their rented treehouse. She’s thankful for both the Doctor and the sturdy railing surrounding their balcony--without them she might have fallen to the forest floor below. Still she’s hit with an odd feeling of vertigo when she remembers how high up she’d been sleeping.

They make their way across several bridges to the wide spiral staircase and she sees that the Doctor is right, there are quite a few people out and heading down to the forest floor. When they get to the bottom of the steps they join the flow of people walking toward what Rose now knows is the clearing of the Mother Tree. She’s surprised by the glimmer of light coming from the clearing; she hadn’t noticed any light fixtures when they’d been there earlier in the day.

If possible her shock when they pass the edge of the tree line is even greater this time. She’s expecting the vastness of the tree, but she doesn’t expect it to _glow_. But there it is, shining brighter than any Christmas tree. She gasps.

The Doctor’s got his arm around her waist again, and he kisses the top of her head with a smile. “That’s what I was hoping for, that pure delight. Ah, Rose, I love to give you gifts like this.”

“How--?” she says, unable to finish the thought.

“There’s a species of bird that lives in the tree, the cabranti. There’s nothing remarkable about the bird, really, just a small nightbird. It eats a certain kind of lichen that grows on the tree. Again, there’s nothing remarkable about the lichen. A few other creatures eat it too. But something _very_ remarkable happens when the cabranti and the lichen combine. Something in the lichen reacts with something inside the cabranti, and it causes the bird’s feathers to _glow_. They look normal in the day, when they’re asleep, but when they wake up and fly around in the darkness, they glow like big, bird-shaped fireflies.”

“Thank you,” she whispers, both to the tree and the birds and the Doctor. _Her_ Doctor. Still hers after all this time.

**Author's Note:**

> 31 Days of Ficmas || Day 4 - Tree


End file.
